Cotton-gin.



PATENTED OCT. ll, 1904.

Illllrlllll C. G. BODUNGEN.

COTTON GN.

APPLICATION PIL-ED MAR. 16, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

ago f UNITED STATES GLEMENS Gr. BODUNGEN, OF LAGRANGE, TEXAS.

COTTON-GIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,272, dated October 11, 1904.

Application filed March 16, 1904.

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern.-

Beit known that I, CLnMnNs G. BODUNGEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lagrange, in the county of Fayette and State of Texas, have in-vented a new and useful Improvement in Cotton-Gins, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to an improvement in cotton-gine, and more particularly to the gearing whereby motion is transmitted from the saw-shaft to the brush-shaft of the gin. In those gin constructions with which I am familiar a series of gin-saws are mounted on a saw-shaft driven by the application of power thereto and arranged in turn to drive, through the medium of a belt, a brush-shaft carrying a brush'or a series of brushes operating in proximity to the saws. Many valid objections may be urged against this arrangement, particularly the transmission of power from one shaft to another by means of a belt, the most prominent of such objections being the excessive vibration of the parts, the torsional strains on the brush-shaft, the friction induced in the bearings of such shaft by its tendency to endwise movement, and the frequent necessity for slacking or tightening the brush-shaft and for applying resin or other frictional substance to the engaging surfaces of the belt and pulleys. Having in mind these objectionable characteristics of the usual arrangement for transmitting motion from one shaft to the other, the object of my invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive form of motion-transmitting mechanism between the saw and brush shafts of the gin, by the use of which the parts will be made to run smoothly without vibration, without undue torsional strain on the brush-shaft, and without tendency to endwise movement of the shaft or undue frictionin the bearings thereof.

To the accomplishment of the recited objects and others subordinate thereto the invention resides in that construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and defined in the appended claim. I

In said drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a gin-stand equipped in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is adetail sectional View, on

Patented October 11, 1904.

PATENTV GFFICE.

Serial No. 198,421. (No model.)

a somewhat enlarged scale, of the gearing at one side of the gin. Fig. 3 is a face View of the gearing, and Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the small friction-wheels. y

Like numerals of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates a gin-stand of ordinary construction; 2, the breast; 3, the gin-saws, and 4 the brush. The gin-saws 3 are mounted, as usual, on a saw-shaft 5, journaled at each end thereof in a pair of bearing-boxes 6 and 7, mounted on the frame, as shown. The brush-4 is disposed parallel'with the gang of gin-saws to clear the same and is carried by a brushshaft 8, parallel with the saw-shaft 5 and likewise provided beyond each end of the brush lwith bearing-boxes 9 and 10. As is usual in this class of machines, power is applied to the saw-shaft 5 to rotate the saws, said shaft being equipped with a belt-pulley 11 for the application of a power-belt. (Not shown.)

In accordance with my invention motion is transmitted to the brush-shaft 8 from the sawshaft 5 by gearing arranged in a novel manner to eliminate the objections to the usual brush-belt ordinarily employed in this connection. As shown in Fig. l of the drawings, the shaft 5 is lequipped with a pairof oppositely-disposed beveled friction-wheels 12 and 13, each adjustably retained upon the shaft by set-screws 13L between the bearingboxes of each pair. vThe wheels l2 and 13 are disposed to frictionally engage a pair of somewhat smaller beveled friction-wheels 14 and 15, mounted on the brush-shaft 8 and oppositely disposed with respect to each other and also with respect to the larger wheels engaged thereby. This particular relation of the wheels is material. It will be noted that the outer or back faces of the wheels 12 and 13 are those of greatest diameter, while the outer faces of the small wheels 14 and 15 are those of least diameter. It follows, therefore, that any end thrust of the brush-shaft in either direction is sustained by the larger wheels, which thus constitute means resisting endwise movement of the brush-shaft in either direction. Ordinarily the tendency of the brush-shaft to endwise movement induces undue friction in the bearings of such shaft, While, on the contrary, in the described arrangement this end thrust merely serves to increase the frictional contact of the driving and driven wheels and renders more positive the transmission of motion. It will be seen, furthermore, that motion is positively7 Vtransmitted to both ends of the brush-shaft, so that the torsional strains and the objectionable vibration ordinarily incident thereto is wholly eliminated, While at the same time the brush is rotated smoothly and easily in a direction opposite to the rotation of the saws and at a somewhat higher speed.

It has been stated that the larger wheels 12 and 13 are adjustable upon the saw-shaft, and it will be seen that this adjustability makes 4it possible to take up wear and to insure at all times an eective frictiona'l -contact between the driving and driven Wheels without material loss of time in the operation of the gin.

lVhile the speciiic character of frictionwheels aside from their lrelative arrangement is immaterial so far as the broader aspect of the invention is concerned, I nevertheless prefer to construct :these elements substantially as shown in Fig. 2. In this figure Athe wheel 12 is shown to be alight metal casting having its beveled periphery formed by a trunco-conical -lange 16 and provided With a hub 1 7, fitted upon the saw-shaft and .carryingthefset-screws 13, ythe inner `ends of which preferably engage depressions or .recesses 18 in the shaft. The small friction-wheel -14 instead of being formed in a single .casting is preferably composed ofa pair of circular faceplates 19 and 20, connected bybolts 21, which pass through a series of leather, raw-hide, or other suitable disks 22 of gradually-diminishing diameter eto form a -trunco-conical or Lbeveled engaging face opposed -to fthe -beveled periphery of the wheel 12. It should be observed in this connection that the largest leather disk 22 is of greater diameter 'than the face-.plate 20, so that the wheel 12 is not permitted to contact with any metal part of the wheel 14, but engages exclusively a comparatively yielding frictional material interposed between the face-plates thereof.

1f desired, the smaller wheels 14 may be adjustable on the brush-shaft, and the faceplates 2O are therefore provided with hubs 23, carrying set-screws 24, :engaging the brushshaft 8, as shown. It Will of course be understood that the wheels at both sides of the gin are similarly constructed and arranged.

Itis thought that from the foregoing the construction, operation, and many advantages of my invention will 'be readily apparent with- .out furtherldescri-ption; but while the present embodiment of the invention is believed at this time to be preferable Ido knotdesire to limit myself ,to the structural detailsdefined, as, yon the contrary, l reserve the right .to `effect such changes, modifications, and variationsthereof as :may -fall fairly iwithinfthe scope of the protection prayed.

Ina cotton-gin, .the combination with aginstand, a saw-shaft andsawsand a .brush-shaft and brush, of a pair of bea-rings foreach end of the saw-shafa-a pair of oppositelyfdisposed beveled friction-Wheels -adjustabgly mounted.

on the saw-shaft land each :located between the bearings at one end of theshaittaa 1pairof :bearings for each :end of t-he brush-shaft, and .a pair of .comparatively smalll beveled friction- -Wheels fmounted :on the brush-shaft :and engag-ing :the wheels on the saw-shaft, each of the smaller Wheels being Alocated between a pair `of .bear-ings at one .end Aof the .brush-.shaft and consisting ofconnected face-.plates and intermediate laminated frictiona-l material engaged by a vwheel on the saw-shaft.

1n testimony .that l ,claim the =foregoing as my own I have hereto atifxed my signature in the presence of ytwo witnesses.

A. S. MANN, J. L. HAiDUsmi. 

